BOX SCORE

BOX SCORE  |  POSTGAME AUDIO FROM COACH BISHOP


STOCKTON, Calif. — The University of the Pacific played eight minutes of lights out basketball to pull away late in the first half en route to a 75–63 win over Cal State Monterey Bay in the season opener for both teams Sunday evening at the Spanos Center in Stockton.

CSUMB was still within two points inside the seven minute mark of the first half when UOP caught fire, hitting five three pointers over the final 7:45, turning a slim 22–20 edge into a 47–29 lead at the break. The lead hovered in the 11 to 18 point range for most of the second half, with UOP successfully parrying several Otter comeback attempts.

“I think we were kind of shell shocked because they did not shoot like that in their first two (preseason) games,” said CSUMB Head Coach Rob Bishop. “But we hit a 10 minute stretch where we did not do a good job of rotating. We played hard but weren't executing and they got comfortable.”

The Otters battled back in the second half and had four consecutive possessions in which they could have cut the lead to 10 points midway through the period, but couldn't get past that barrier. Nevertheless, CSUMB out–scored the Tigers over the final 20:26, 37–28.

“All the way until about a minute and a half to go, I thought we still had a chance. But we missed a layup that would have cut it to nine and then couldn't fall on the loose ball,” said Bishop.

Newcomer Kevin Loustale (Chico HS/Shasta College) was impressive off the bench for the Otters, scoring 13 points and grabbing nine rebounds in just 20 minutes before fouling out. CSUMB also got 13 points and a game–high five assists from junior guard Brandon Ward (Riverside/Woodcrest HS) and 10 points from junior guard J.J. Campbell (Riverside/King HS), making his first appearance of the season coming off a knee injury.

“Kevin was a monster. He's not going to go 6-for-6 every game, but we haven't seen him healthy.” said Bishop.

“We've got some things to work on, but I think we showed we can guard the ball. We did a great job in the second half.”

Colin Beatty came off the bench to lead three Tigers in double figures with 14 points, including four three-pointers. Khalil Kelley led UOP on the glass with eight boards.

The Otters will go after their first win at home Thursday night when the host Westminster College of Utah in their home opener at 7 p.m.



CAL STATE MONTEREY BAY (63)
Derrick Anderson 3-8 1-3 7; Jaron Devine 1-2 2-2 4; Brandon Ward 4-12 4-6 13; J.J. Campbell 4-10 0-0 10; Geoff McIntosh 4-8 0-0 9; Troy Watkins 2-3 1-3 5; Greg Jeffery 0-0 0-0 0; Courtland Wharton 0-1 0-0 0; Jalen Headspeth 1-4 0-0 2; Kevin Loustale 6-6 1-1 13; Josh Jackson 0-1 0-0 0; James Thomas 0-1 0-0 0; James Albert 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-56 9-15 63

UNIV. OF THE PACIFIC (75)
Ross Rivera 2-3 3-4 8; Jordan Turner 0-0 0-0 0; Khalil Kelley 3-6 2-4 8; Andrew Bock 4-7 5-7 13; Rodrigo De Souza 5-9 0-0 11; Trevin Harris 0-2 0-0 0; Colin Beatty 5-9 0-2 14; Markus Duran 2-6 0-0 6; Markcus Falley 0-3 0-2 0; Lorenzo McCloud 2-4 3-7 7; Adam Eakles 0-0 0-0 0; Travis Fulton 3-8 0-0 8; Rundell Mauge 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-57 13-26 75

Halftime: UOP 47-29. 3-pt. FG: CSUMB 4-13 (Campbell 2-2, Ward 1-4, McIntosh 1-4, Wharton 0-1, Headspeth 0-1, Thomas 0-1); UOP 10-30 (Beatty 4-6, Fulton 2-5, Duran 2-6, Rivera 1-2, De Souza 1-4, Harris 0-1, Falley 0-2, McCloud 0-2). Rebounds: CSUMB 37 (Loustale 9); UOP 39 (Kelley 8). Assists: CSUMB 9 (Ward 5); UOP 16 (De Sourza 4). Turnovers: CSUMB 19, UOP 15. Blocks: CSUMB 1 (Campbell); UOP 1 (Kelley). Steals: CSUMB 7 (Anderson, Campbell 3); UOP 6 (De Souza 3). Fouls: CSUMB 26, UOP 16. Fouled Out: Loustale. Officials: Michael Irving, Klaus Endrissat, Courtney Holmes. Attendence: 1,862



GO OTTERS!